CVS Moves From Print To Digital Advertising

   According to their company spokesperson Erin Pensa, CVS is moving away from print advertising. They are putting less money into their "Sunday Circulars" in order to focus on their Extracare program, which provides an online, more personalized experience for shoppers. This carries significant implications for the newspaper industry, as these circulars were a "primary revenue source" for print-news outlets.

  But why is the Extracare program so important? It follows a growing trend in advertising, a trend that personalizes ad experiences for consumers. In this case, it seems CVS wants to focus on their actual customers, not random people who come into contact with the papers. Non-customers would not even know what the Extracare program is. CVS wants to reap the benefits of what they already have, and it's not hard to blame them. It's better to be sure where they're getting their business from.

  However, CVS may end up attracting less customers with this move. Since their will be less ads in the newspaper, they have less of a chance of advertising to new people. They will be stuck with much of their current consumer base. In order to alleviate this, they should also focus on advertising away from Extracare. This could include advertising on frequented websites like YouTube, Facebook, etc.

  The case not only shows the advertising market could affect other markets like newspaper, but also that the change to digital advertising carries its own benefits and challenges.

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iPhone 8/X Craze

Apple is undoubtedly doing something right, and they have been for the last decade, maybe even two. For one company such as Apple to be able to completely have their own operating system and phone line (iOS and iPhone, respectively) to compete against another operating system that runs on hundreds of different brands of phones (Android, owned by Google, and Samsung, HTC, LG, OnePlus, respectively - just to name a few) is quite impressive. One thing many tech-junkies love to do is create mock-ups of what the latest tech will look like. For example, when the iPhone 6S was out, tech-junkies couldn't stop posting and wondering about what the iPhone 7 would look like and be like, along with iOS 10 when that was first in the works. Now, with iOS 11 in the near future, as well as the iPhone 8 or iPhone X most likely coming in late 2017, the iPhone 7 quickly got overshadowed the minute it was released. There are quite a few reasons for why the iPhone 7 was overshadowed. First, it is important to note that just because I'm calling this phone "overshadowed" does not mean it didn't sell well. Apple reportedly sold 78.3 million iPhone 7's and 7 Plus's (techcrunch.com). The reason it became overshadowed however was mostly because the iPhone to be released in 2017, speculated to be called either the iPhone 8 (in order with Apple's mobile naming scheme) or the iPhone X, is because it will be the tenth anniversary of the original iPhone debut in 2007 by the now-late Steve Jobs (RIP). This has many tech-junkies wetting the bed because Apple now needs to compete with Samsung's newly released Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus with Samsung's new Infinity Displays, pictured below. Now, Apple is under more pressure than ever. Their screen is said to be curved around the edges of the device and they are supposedly including dual cameras not just on the back of the phone, but the front as well for more Augmented Reality features. They will also attempt to include Touch ID (currently known as their home button finger print reader) into the display and completely get rid of any sort of home button. This is of course due to the fact that they wish to make the front of the phone practically all-display and no bezels. Phones have stopped becoming 'thinner' and have now started becoming more about battery life, features, cameras and screen size. Below are some images of concepts of what the iPhone 8/X could look like. So what do you think? No, they're not going to be bringing back the headphone jack anytime soon (sorry), but the concept images designers have been coming up with look incredible and almost make me not miss the headphone jack in my iPhone at all (said from a current iPhone 7 Plus user).

Social Issues In Advertising: How Pepsi Got It Wrong

    Just a few weeks ago, Pepsi launched an ad staring Kendall Jenner. It features a protest involving people of all ethnicities, though it focuses mainly on a younger crowd of people. Ms. Jenner can be seen posing for cameras and looking on at the street protest, until one protestor urges her to join them. After joining and coming face to face with a line of police officers, Ms. Jenner hands one of the officers a Pepsi. This results in applause from the protestors, and a sort of acquiescence from the cops. 

   Ultimately, Pepsi decided to pull the commercial from the public after widespread criticism. Many thought this commercial made light of recent protests, specifically for the Black Lives Matter movement. Truthfully, protests aren't successful because of something so trivial like a can of soda. Protestors often need to deal with police brutality, and they could be forced into putting their own lives or well-beings at risk. Having Kendall Jenner, a famous white woman, star in a commercial that makes BLM protests seem trivial is obviously an ignorant idea on Pepsi's part. 

   Some social issues are just too serious to put into ads. If they are included, they must be executed tastefully and purposefully. At first watch, the commercial may not seem that negative, but the socio-political context of the society surrounding the ad must always be considered. Everything must be executed as it is in the real world, with the highest amount of truth possible displayed in the ad. If not, consumers will smell the fowl play, and the reactions could result in some heavy PR nightmares. This is not to mention the millions of people that could be offended in their interpretations of the ad. 

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Netflix Twitter Shade

Twitter has become a major social media platform for companies to advertise and connect directly with consumers. Companies such as Wendy's have used the platform to throw shade at competitors, replying to tweets with witty comments to suggest that the competition's products are garbage. Recently, Netflix and Hulu joined in on the shade-fest. After Hulu posted a tweet urging users to try their service that includes shows streaming only on their platform, Netflix clapped back with a tweet of their own.

For anyone unfamiliar with the reference in Netflix's tweet, it is a line from the recent Netflix hit drama, 13 Reasons Why. The show is about a girl who leaves behind tapes detailing the people and reasons behind her suicide. Twitter users have been using the quote, "Welcome to your tape," to make jokes about anyone who has wronged them in any way - usually something as small as a co-worker eating their food from the refrigerator. However, Netflix's use of the joke was met with criticism. 

But while some users found the tweet to be an insensitive joke about a serious topic, others found it amusing, including the sass master itself, Wendy's.

So what do you think? Does Netflix deserve criticism or praise? On the one hand, it made use of one of its own shows to hit back at a competitor, achieving both advertising and defense of the brand. On the other hand, the show that Netflix used just happens to be about teenage suicide. Was the joke witty or ill-mannered? Does Netflix owe an apology or should the tweet stand?

Coca Cola Begins Shift to a "Total Beverage Company"

With soda sales at a 30 year low, Coca Cola begins the process of a makeover.

Coca Cola, creators of popular soft drinks such as Coke, Sprite, and Fanta, will drastically reduce the sugar content in over 500 of their products. They also plan to put more money into advertising their healthier drinks, such as Powerade, Simply Orange Juice, and their water brand, Dasani.

With the shift, Coca Cola is becoming more health conscious as the world does the same. While their main competitor Pepsi struggles to recover from their huge public relations blunder, Coca Cola continues to market itself as the company that has a little something for everyone.

Another part of their plan, currently called the "Way Forward Plan", is to create new, healthy products. Currently on their agenda is to create new products such as organic tea, coconut water, dairy, coffee and more juices.

Coca Cola is also planning on releasing new versions of Coke, while also promoting their current, healthier options such as Diet Coke and Coke Zero more frequently. The goal is to truly make every one of their drink options have the same "Togetherness" vibe that Coca Cola has been promoting for a few years.

Finally, the last part of their plan is to ramp up global production. While several of their main products are already available all around the world, several of the healthier drinks they produce are only available in America and the U.K. They want all their brands available all over the world, so everyone knows what Coca Cola is producing,

This is a brilliant move by Coca Cola. With Pepsi still licking it's wounds, it's time to do something big, which is exactly what they're doing. Soda sales are drastically down, and rather than hoping it gets better, they're adjusting to the market.

SOURCE: AdWeek

The Place Where Coke Tastes SO Good

McDonald's just launched its first unbranded marketing campaign.

The commercial spots and YouTube videos feature comedian and actress, Mindy Kaling, who has long been known as a fan of the fast food chain, wearing a yellow dress and standing against a red background, while talking about "the place where Coke tastes so good," and urging people who do not know what she's talking about to Google it. McDonald's is never mentioned.

The ad plays off of the cultural myth that Coke tastes better at McDonald's. At the end of the ads, that feature a Google search bar and copy that reads, "That place where Coke tastes SO good is now selling any size for $1." See the commercial spots below, the first in which Kaling urges searches to "Search It," i.e., the place where coke tastes so good, and one in which she interviews a beverage technician to find out why Coke tastes better at that place. In the second spot, it is made even clearer that the brand is purposely keeping its name out of the ads, as any mention of McDonald's is edited out.

What do you think of McDonald's unbranded campaign? Share your thoughts below.

Facebook Announces Augmented Reality Platform

Recently, in the blog post titled, “Snapchat Launches New Lenses,” I wrote about Snapchat’s new augmented reality feature that allows users to apply lenses to background settings, and thus alter the reality of their surroundings. This is a huge innovation for Snapchat as it was the first social media network to offer augmented reality lenses to its users. However, Snapchat’s monopoly on augmented reality won’t last for long.

At a conference this week, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook is working on offering augmented reality features to its users. But instead of producing these features in-house, as Snapchat does, Facebook is opening its camera features to developers, thus creating more opportunities and options for users. Zuckerberg said at the conference, “Instead of 10 or 20 options to choose from, you’re going to have thousands.”

Zuckerberg speaking about the augmented reality feature at the Facebook F8 conference on Tuesday, April 18.

Due to the presence of developers working on the project, Facebook’s augmented reality features will be able to turn everyday scenes into works of art. Zuckerberg said that in the future, “people will be standing around looking at blank walls,” because through the Facebook lenses they won’t be blank, they will be experiences themselves.

Snapchat, the app known for its augmented reality lenses, first available on selfie images, and now available for all images, may need to come up with a new niche, as Facebook is incorporating augmented reality into its platform.

Real Beauty Productions

Creator of the hit TV shows, Grey's Anatomy and Scandal, that notably feature female protagonists, Shonda Rhimes, is teaming up with Dove, for the next leg of their  13-year-old campaign, for "real beauty."

The partnership appears during the launch of Dove's new production company, "Real Beauty Productions." Together with the new production studio, Rhimes will create videos that portray real women's stories of beauty.

In the introductory video to the partnership, Shonda reaches out to viewers to ask for their stories--stories that "expand the definition of beauty." See the video below.

Dove has produced commercial spots and ads over the last 13 years that have worked to create a more representative vision of all types of beauty. It seems that creating longer videos with seasoned storytellers is the next logical step in a branding campaign lasting for over a decade.

Snapchat Launches New Lenses

According to The Wall Street Journal, on Tuesday, April 18, the photo messaging app, Snapchat, launched an augmented reality feature that allows users to add special effects to the backgrounds of photos and videos they take on their smartphones. Prior to this launch, these features were limited to images of faces. The new lenses include images like rainbows, clouds, hearts, as well as words. The video below shows the new lens features.

Sponsorship of the new lenses could become a new trend in advertising, although currently the company is not selling them. However, they could become a large money maker for Snapchat, as brands paid as much as $750,000 for sponsorship of the selfie lenses.

The selfie lenses that came out last year proved popular for brands such as Gatorade. During the SuperBowl this year, Gatorade sponsored a lens that displayed the sports drink being poured over users' heads in a similar fashion to how the drink is poured over the head of the winning team's coach after the game. Below, professional tennis player, Serena Williams, is pictured using the sponsored lens.

Will the new augmented-reality feature bring in big advertising dollars for Snapchat? Share your opinion on the new feature below.

Coke Expands "Share a Coke" Campaign to Make it More Inclusive

Remember Coca-Cola's "Share a Coke" campaign that was really popular a couple of years ago? Remember fondly going to every grocery store near your house or school looking for a bottle with your name on it? That was always great if you had a fairly common name like Sarah or Michael.

But for less common names? Well, you weren't exactly included. Of course you could design your own Coke bottle on the brand's website and have it shipped to your house, but what's the fun in that? Half of the thrill is digging through the bottles in the refrigerated drink section at the store searching for the bottle named after you.

Well, to combat this, Coke is expanding its "Share a Coke" campaign to include last names now. The company identified 200 of the most popular last names, which supposedly account for over 1/4 of those living in this country.



And if you can't find your last name on these bottles? You can still design your own on Coca-Cola's website.

I personally think that this is a great sequel to the "Share a Coke" campaign. It's a way to connect with your audience on an even deeper level and create even more of a buzz about your product. It's cool to find your first name on a bottle of the most iconic pop of all time, but it's even cooler to find your last name on a bottle because you can buy a ton and give them to all of your family members. Imagine what a cool family photo that would make if you each had a bottle with your last name on it.

What do you think about last names going on bottles for the "Share a Coke" campaign?